I’ve always liked Hungary more than any other central and eastern European country. The Hungarians remind me of Italians: more than a fair share of brilliance and creativity, and more than a fair share of dodgy behaviour. In a very central European way, it’s supplemented by an unbelievably dark, pessimistic view of the world.

Andrew Sullivan perfectly captures some of the spirit of The New York Times. “I particularly like the fearless judgment that Mount Holyoke’s decision was done ‘fairly and appropriately’. Those mind-numbing adjectives are Times staples, along with ‘fair-minded’ for anything they agree with and ‘mean-spirited’ for anything they don’t. They reflect an attitude of detachment that is rarely separated from condescension. The Times is the only institution I know of that can make me both infuriated and bored at the same time.”

The FT makes some sensible comments about the planned meeting: “Past confrontations suggest the two sides do not agree on the facts underlying the debate and they focus on different outcomes. It may be a struggle to find enough common ground to hold a meaningful discussion.”

I liked the quote from George Soros, who took part in a fruitless teleconference in Davos with the anti-globalisation World Social Forum, which was taking place in Porto Alegre, Brazil. “I don’t particularly like to be abused,” Soros says. “My masochism has its limits.”

Essential viewing

As soon as I can carve a moment, I am going to run to the British Library’s exhibition “Lie of the Land: the secret life of maps“. I love maps, and I’m particularly fascinated by how they can lie and distort, as well as convey information.

I wrote a while ago about Michael Jackson, CEO of Wild Day, who was running his company while climbing in Pakistan. Following the death of a climbing friend on Broad Peak (near K2), Jackson sensible wonders, “What am I doing here?“

Jackson’s account of his company’s battle with online credit card fraud is also worth a read. It was written at 5,000 metres, but it deals with a very down-to-earth problem.